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Blog - Botanical

Dendrologist Dan's spring stunners: cheerful cherries

Posted in: Blog Botanical Spring

Some of you will know that our Prunus sargentii on Broad Drive is looking rather good just at the moment. Photographs posted to Facebook last week illustrated this nicely I took a few more this morning confirming that this is still the case!...

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Dendrologist Dan's spring stunners: awesome Acers

Posted in: Blog Botanical Spring

There is so much to excite here at Westonbirt just now - far too much to mention them all here so I have chosen to highlight just a few of the Acer species along Broad drive, which are perhaps more subtle in their flowering beauty.

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Dendrologist Dan's spring stunners: Azara microphylla

Posted in: Blog Botanical Spring

The beauty of spring is definitely unfolding at Westonbirt (even if it has turned a little bit chilly again!) and one of the many highlights is Azara microphylla, which is in flower right now.

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Dendrologist Dan’s spring stunners: Magnolia campbellii

Posted in: Blog Botanical Spring

Spring things are really getting going here at Westonbirt right now.

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Dendrologist Dan's spring stunners: eye catching catkins!

Posted in: Blog Botanical Spring

Quite a different theme this week. We are all drawn towards different things at different times, and for me, today it was the awesome Alders!...

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Dendrologist Dan's spring stunners!

Posted in: Blog Botanical Spring

Spring is springing here at Westonbirt, with our trees waking up (some before others!) and providing us with spectacular floral and foliage displays for all to enjoy.

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An autumn walk with...

Posted in: Blog Botanical Autumn

An Australian colleague of mine has recently moved back down under, and before he departed I asked him what he would most miss about living in the UK.

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We are more than the trees; we are flowers, butterflies and bees

Yesterday was my second guided walk. A different topic this time and I couldn’t have thought of a better way to spend 2 hours in the sunshine than looking at wildflowers.

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Spring colour: what's looking good now?

Posted in: Blog Botanical Spring

The sun has come out and the weather has warmed up - and most importantly, the spring colour has bounced into life!...

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A sure sign spring has arrived: the pink blooms of Westonbirt’s Diva magnolia are here!

Posted in: Blog Botanical Spring

Westonbirt’s bright pink symbol of spring – the 24 metre tall Magnolia sprengeri ‘Diva’ has finally flowered - a month later than last year due to the cold start to spring.

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A funny kind of spring? Not really...

Posted in: Blog Botanical Spring

People say "funny kind of spring, isn't it?" to which I usually reply, "Not really, just like all of them, different from any other!" That's just the way it is in this part of the world.

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A winter walk with Westonbirt's curator

Isn't it funny how normally familiar surroundings can appear very different throughout the seasons...

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Deadly gem rediscovered

Posted in: Blog Botanical

For a long time we assumed that all the plants growing along the edge of the Old Arboretum were rhododendrons, but during recent clearance work we rediscovered a calico bush...

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Spring Colour Watch Blog: bright is beautiful

Posted in: Blog Botanical Spring

Take a look back over the previous twelve weeks of this year’s Spring Colour Watch Blog, and you’ll see a succession of bold colours.

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Spring Colour Watch Blog: maple colours to challenge autumn!

Posted in: Blog Botanical Spring

The current red and pink leaves of some of Westonbirt’s Japanese maples tease of autumn colour – but the sea of bluebells underneath reminds us that it is spring.

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